Former U.S. envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross, speaking to Israel’s Army Radio today, characterized the timing of Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Wednesday as “puzzling,” the JPost reports.

Ross criticized his emphasis on the matter in light of the “paradox of what is happening in the region.” “This is what he gives a 75-minute speech on – not what’s happening in Syria, not what’s happening in Iraq, not what the Russians are doing.”

“Part of the problem with the Kerry approach is that it’s an all or nothing approach – and the problem with an all or nothing approach is that it always produces nothing.”